Author Spotlight week -Excerpt from Black Jaguar

THE BLURB:
Kahuel of Yalta, nicknamed Black Jaguar like his emerald-eyed feline, volunteered to sail away on his brother's Galleon go get away from his roguish past, and prove his worth as a blood prince. When a typhoon hits, and he realizes the powerful Mutant who commandeered the expedition has ulterior motives, his world is turned upside down.

Talina of the Chosen has never seen a foreigner, until destiny brings to her shores a group of baffling strangers who cannot read minds… among them a prince, and the Lost Daughter of the prophecy. She knows her fate is about to change, but the Star People protecting her clan view the outsiders as a threat to their crucial experiment.

Can Black Jaguar, with his few warriors and felines, simple weapons and Human ingenuity, save Talina and her people from a horrible fate? Against impossible odds, can he prevail upon a highly advanced enemy?

EXCERPT:

When the tall, dark man emerged from the thick vegetation, so close, Talina thought her heart would stop. He paused and stared at her with deep emerald eyes.

Sitting on her favorite stump, Talina stiffened and averted her gaze to the waterfall beyond him. "I called you here, Black Jaguar."

"You speak our language?" His eyes rounded in surprise. He looked pleased. A light touch on his mind told her he was pleased to see her... and more. "How do you know my name?"

"That's what your people call you, isn't it?" She didn't dare meet his striking green gaze.

"Indeed." He strode closer, the scabbard on his hip clicking against high leather boots. He wore short blades on his belt as well... forbidden blades. Up close, he smelled of sea spray.

Talina jumped off her stump and took a step back, keeping the stump safely between them. "I saw your people bring you the boar they killed."

Black Jaguar grinned, revealing strong white teeth. "It's a great way to start the day, knowing that we won't starve."

"Killing land animals for food is cruel and cowardly." Talina detected no shame in his mind. He was proud of what he was, and that scared her. "They have no defense against your metal blades."

"Believe me, the boar had a fighting chance." Black Jaguar chuckled. "Have you seen his tusks?"

Talina shuddered. How could anyone be so mean? "You should be ashamed of yourselves."

"We have to eat, and meat is best for a warrior's strength." He straightened his spine, exulting pride. "We Zerkers are warriors."

"Warriors?" Talina understood the word, but the implications were too odious to comprehend.

"It's easier to fight on a full stomach." Black Jaguar exuded a lusty happiness.

"Fight? Fight what? Fight whom?" All Talina believed to be good in this world would be trampled by a people who glorified fighting.

Black Jaguar froze and frowned at her. "Why are you looking at me as if I'd killed your best friend?"

"That boar was a friend." Talina choked on the words. "All the animals in this jungle are my friends." Anger clouded her mind. "Your people are truly evil, like my brother said, like the Star People said."

"The Star People?" His eyes narrowed as if he struggled to understand. But of course, he didn't. He couldn't read her mind.

Talina steeled herself. "I didn't want to believe them, but now I see why they want you and your people dead. You do not deserve to live."

Black Jaguar's dark face hardened and his jaw clenched. "Only the Great Engineer decides who lives and who dies."

Author Spotlight Week -Vijaya Schartz shares her passion for Science Fiction

I've been a sci-fi fan since childhood. I was reading it from the school library, hiding behind my bed, driving my mother crazy. Of course, I was also reading detective stories, and adventure stories. But I watched all the sci-fi movies and TV shows. It was like a drug. I couldn't wait until I could go on a spaceship myself and explore the universe. Turns out I was born a little too early for that. Do you know that if you fly high enough in a plane, you can see the curvature of the Earth? Well, I’ve seen it. But I’m also watching the progress of Virgin Space Flights (they have regular update documentaries on the Science Channel) and I hope it will be possible for anyone to travel in space in the next few decades. It’s definitely on my bucket list.

So, naturally, when it came to my own writing, it made sense that I would write sci-fi. At first, it was straight sci-fi and weird fantasy, then my stories took a more romantic turn. Why not have the best of both worlds. All women like romance (whether they admit it or not). So now I write sci-fi romance. it's still a fully developed science-fiction plot, with a love story throughout. But even without the romance element, the story would stand on its own. That's what makes what I write sci-fi romance, and not futuristic romance, where the future is only a backdrop for a sizzling love story, with not much of a realistic plot.

I like to sprinkle a lot of action and adventures in my books, and dangers, and difficult situations. I love to get my characters in jeopardy, then figure out a way of getting them out of there (or leaving them stuck together long enough, so they can learn to appreciate each other). And what better place for that than being prisoner on a spaceship? Of course, that’s what happens in Black Jaguar.

Author Spotlight Week - Q&A with Vijaya Schartz

STEPH: I'd like to welcome author Vijaya Schartz to the Spotlight this week. Vijaya has an awesome series, the Chronicles of Kassouk which I enjoyed very much. I hope you get a chance to check it out.

Black Jaguar is your latest release in the Chronicles of Kassouk. Can you tell us a little about the story?

VIJAYA: This particular story is one of exploration. At this point in the series, the Human population has grown, and for the first time crosses the ocean on a Galleon. They do not expect people, even less mind-readers, and the hero soon realizes that there is more at stake than a culture clash. As usual in my books, there is plenty of adventure, and some cool but sinister aliens with an important agenda, who are going to make life extremely difficult for my hero and heroine. But this is also a romance, so there is a developing relationship throughout the book, and all the expected romantic rewards... but you'll be wondering until the end.

STEPH: What was in the inspiration for the story?

VIJAYA: I definitely had in mind the plight of the conquistadors, isolated, away from home, and the plight of the indigenous tribes coming in contact with a technically more advanced people. I do not take sides, history is what it is. But since it's science-fiction, why not imagine a better world, where people try to get along despite enormous obstacles.

STEPH: How long have you been writing?


VIJAYA: I've been writing since childhood, but for publication only since the mid nineties. My first paperback came out in 2000 and I had many books published since. After a dozen, I stopped counting. Many of my older titles are now out of print, but I intend to bring them back to light in eBook very soon.

STEPH: How do you create your characters? Do you cast them? If so, who are the leads?

VIJAYA: Sometimes a novel is the heroine's story, and sometimes it's the hero's. In this case, Kahuel, aka Black Jaguar, is the hero. He starts as a young, inexperienced, roguish prince, thrown in a position of responsibility by extraordinary circumstances, but he learns and grows in wisdom and tolerance. By the very end of the book he is completely transformed. The heroine is already wise, but she has problems of her own, the most important being cultural. She is an animal lover, a vegetarian, and he is a hunter and a meat eater. But when it comes to bonding rituals and mating rules, Kahuel is up for a big surprise...

STEPH: What attracts you to writing science fiction/futuristic?

VIJAYA: Sci-fi is the last frontier of fiction. Anything is possible, there is no limit to the imagination. There are no boundaries or rules, other than those you impose yourself on the world you create. Besides, I've always been for progress, technological advances. My husband says I must come from the future. I was inventing epads with GPS, blue tooth, and instant picture transmission in my books years before the technology came out. I think the ipad stole my idea - just kidding :-) Although Sci-Fi writers do influence technology. Where do you think they got the idea of a flip phone? If you watched the first Startrek series, you know where.

STEPH: How did the story find a home with Desert Breeze?

VIJAYA: Actually, Desert Breeze contracted this title way before the book was written, as it's parts of a series. This is Book Three, and two more books will follow. I'm actively writing book Four, Blue Lioness, scheduled for release in 2011, and book five is scheduled for 2012.

STEPH: Do you have any hobbies you'd like to share with us?

VIJAYA: When does a writer find time for hobbies? I don't know. But there are a few things I love to do, although I don't have much time anymore. I love martial arts (no wonder most of my heroines are butt-kicking warriors). I sometimes jump out of perfectly good planes (and I am terrified of heights). I have an eye for color, and I used to paint, but not for a long time. Writing is taking up all my free time (event my sleep when I dream).

STEPH: What's your favorite place to visit in Arizona? A festival? A town?

VIJAYA: Arizona is wonderful. I love the many national parks, with the Anasazi ruins in particular (which inspired some of my past stories), also love the Grand Canyon (I did some rough water rafting on the Colorado river), and the red rocks of Sedona full of ancient myths and legends.

STEPH: Fun question: Who is your favorite cat? A Tiger, Leopard, or Jaguar?

VIJAYA: Like in my books, when readers ask me who is my favorite hero, it's always the one I am writing at the time. So, although I loved to write about Rascal the leopard, and Diablo the black jaguar, I would have to say that my favorite feline at this particular time is a silver blue lioness named Hellion.

Thank you Steph, for your insightful questions.

STEPH: It was great to have you here today, Vijaya. You can find her on the web at:

Vijaya Schartz
Award-winning Sci-Fi, Guns, Swords, Romance with a kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com

Vijaya's paperbacks, kindle, and audiobooks at Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JP7UJ4

Vijaya's eBooks at ARe:
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Vijaya+Schartz

STEPH: PS - Did I mention, Vijaya's first book in the series, "White Tiger," won the Arianna Award from EPIC for best cover? Kudos to Vijaya for writing a kick-ass story and to the cover artist, Jenifer Ranieri for bringing Vijaya's vision to life!